


The Wrong Words

by Ellflc



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Amnesia, Anger, Angst, Autistic Keith (Voltron), Big Brother Shiro (Voltron), Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Bittersweet Ending, Domestic Discipline, Domestic Fluff, Domestic Violence, F/M, Gay Bar, Gay Keith (Voltron), Gen, Keith/Lance (Voltron) Angst, M/M, Orphan Keith (Voltron), Past Child Abuse, Self-Harm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-10
Updated: 2018-04-19
Packaged: 2019-04-21 04:39:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 18
Words: 9,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14277099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ellflc/pseuds/Ellflc
Summary: Lance has an insufferable case of word vomit and always babbles on.Keith never thinks before speaking and only regrets it after.Can these two ever say anything right to each other?!





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'll try to make it with minimal clichés but can't promise anything.

"Keith!" Lance raced after Keith, after everyone else had left the dining room to do various menial tasks. "Hey, um, buddy can I talk to you for a sec?"

Keith raised an eyebrow but nodded. "Ok sure." He folded his arms and stared at Lance suspiciously. "So what is it?" 

Lance blushed a little. "Well, it's just that since we don't have to worry about the Galra Empire anymore, I-I just wanted to get something off my chest that I've wanted to say for a really long time. Ok, here goes..." he took a deep breath and stared at Keith solemnly. "Keith Kogane, I have a crush on you." 

"Haha, very funny Lance. Bye." Keith rolled his eyes and turned around to leave. 

"Wha-? Keith, I wasn't joking about that. That's like the one thing I never lie about. If I like someone I will tell them and I'm telling you now. I mean obviously you don't have to like me," 

"Lance." 

"Although it would be nice, I could show you some awesome places for dates," 

"Lance." 

"When we get back to Earth, 'cause people are more tolerant I guess," 

"LANCE!" 

"Hmm? Oh yeah sorry kind of rambled there, interrupted you there," Lance chuckled awkwardly. "What were you saying?" 

Keith sighed and shook his head. "I'm sorry but I'm not interested." 

"Oh." Lance squeaked. "Yeah I should've asked, I mean you're probably straight." 

"No, it's not that. And I'm as straight as a circle" Keith laughed a little. "It's just, I don't do love. At all. Every time I say I love you to someone, they always end up hurting me. So, thanks and all but no thanks." And with that, he walked of and left a very confused Lance wondering what he had done wrong. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaah, thank you all so much for the comments and the kudos! I simply love it! Of course they're always appreciated and welcome but just thank you for clicking on this


	2. Chapter 2

As soon as Keith was out of distance, Lance ran into the gym where he'd find Shiro. "Shiroooo, it didn't work!"

Shiro turned to face Lance from the treadmill and furrowed his brow. "Hold on, gimme 5 minutes." And true to his word, five minutes later, he stepped off the machine and sat down on a bench next to Lance. "Run me through what happened." 

"Well, I followed your advice. Admitted my feelings and all but then he just said that I was gonna hurt him and left. I just don't know what to do!" 

As soon as Lance said this, Shiro frowned. "Lance, Keith is a very very closed off person. He's been very badly hurt in the past and has a lot of walls up." 

Lance looked puzzled by this. "What exactly do you mean, Shiro?" 

"He was really badly abused by his parents and then bounced around from foster home to foster home after their deaths, so of course he doesn't trust people who say they love him. He just needs some time to process what you said to him, that's all. Trust me, he definitely has feelings for you." 

"Oh. I didn't know about any of that." 

"Yeah, Keith doesn't like to talk about his family so let's just keep that between us, ok? Let him talk to you naturally and don't try to force an answer out of him." 

"Ok. Thanks Shiro. I can certainly see why Matt likes you." Lance smirked deviously at Shiro. 

Shiro blushed scarlet. "I wouldn't say that..." 

"It took a total of 5 seconds for Hunk, Pidge and me to realise this. The guy has never heard of the word subtlety in his life" Lance laughed as he walked out. "See ya later, Shiro!" He already felt better about his situation with Keith but then again, the worst was yet to come.....


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, things can always get worse, right?

A couple of weeks later, Lance was fighting against a training bot and losing badly. He'd barely got any sleep or eaten anything all day due to a video-game marathon with Pidge and he just wanted to sleep. Unfortunately for him, Allura wanted him to do some last sparring before they arrived on Earth for 'self-defence'. And so, after he'd properly had his ass handed to him by the bot, he realised he was late to dinner and arrived in a bad mood. "Why didn't anyone tell me it was time to eat? I'm starving!"

"Well," Keith wickedly smiled at him, "we thought you could work on not getting beaten up by the machines. Again. Looks like that didn't happen." 

Lance rolled his eyes at him and instead set his eyes on the food goo. "Man, in under a week we will never have to eat this stuff ever again." 

"Yeah, certainly one thing to look forward to. What's everyone going to do back on Earth?" Pidge looked around the room with keen eyes. 

"I want to see my family and for them to meet Shay and hopefully work at culinary school or a food charity of some kind," Hunk admitted, gaining warm smiles from everyone. 

"Settle down, find a job I love and live in a quiet community with the ones I love" Shiro shrugged. "I'm done with danger and action, I just want stability." 

"I wish to explore the wonders of Earth. From what you paladins have told me, it is filled with many adventures to try out. And I would love to teach Earth children of Altea and its peace-promoting ways. What about you, Coran?" 

"Well, you know me, princess. I'll hop around from place to place, stay somewhere for a deca-phoeb, maybe visit the Olkari or the Fripping Bulgogian. What of you, number 5?" 

Pidge rested their head in the palm of their hand. "Obviously visit my mom and my dad but I just want to stay with Green and explore all the best planets for technology. I mean, Rover was just the beginning. There's so much more out there that could benefit so many planets." 

"Well I, on the other hand, am gonna go back to Cuba and chill out with my whole family and catch up with them, maybe visit the beaches, get improving on my surfing, invent a new milkshake flavour, find the lucky lady or dude to be with Lancey-Lance." Lance grinned. "I will miss our weekly movie nights though." His face fell a little after he said that. 

Hunk put an arm around him. "We'll all meet up sometime soon and reminisce about everything we did and catch up. Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere far." His eyes looked at Keith. "What you gonna do, Keith?" 

Keith shrugged. "Go back to my shack. Stay away from Iverson." 

"Is that it?" Lance asked with frustration in his voice. "You're always so stubborn to say anything, there's gotta be something you want to do back on Earth." 

"Why do you care, surely the sun and the girls are enough for you?" Keith cut back with. 

"You really think I'm that shallow?" 

"Isn't that what you just said? Live out the American dream with all the burgers and surfboards you can get your hands on," Keith said sarcastically. 

Lance started boiling up inside. "Do you ever say anything that's actually a compliment? Something that'll actually make people smile - or do you just live to make everyone else miserable?" 

"I'm nice when I think people deserve a compliment" Keith sharply said. "Now, are we done or do you want anything else to yell at me before we leave?" 

Lance started seeing red. "You know what, you're just jealous." 

Keith actually laughed. "Yeah sure, I'm jealous of your beach-boy attitude and no real aspirations in life. Hit the nail on the head right there, dumbass." 

"Maybe, it's because I actually have a family to go back to unlike you. You're just a fucking orphan with no real goals who clings onto Shiro like he's your last hope at survival! You act so fucking tough, Kogane, but inside you're scared of losing Shiro and letting people know the real you, the failure to your parents and to the Garrison. A reject from start to finish!" Lance snapped with, his volcano of rage bubbling over. 

Immediately the room fell with a deafening silence. Keith looked at Lance with a mixture of horror and unfiltered rage before quietly exiting the room. Lance just looked down, cooling down with shame from his inappropriate outburst. He ran off as well before anyone could speak to him. 

Pidge was the first to speak. "God, Lance is an idiot sometimes." 

"He really fucking is" Shiro fumed, storming out of the room in the same direction as Lance. 

"Well," Hunk said timidly, "dessert anyone?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy, here we go...

Shiro ran to find Lance running to his room. Luckily, he knew he could outrun Lance any day of the week and so he did, pinning Lance against the wall. "Lance, what the hell were you thinking?!"

"I-I'm sorry Shiro, I just lost my cool. Of course I regret what I said."

"No Lance, you don't get to give me excuses for those horrible words! Keith is one of the strongest people I know and I made a promise to look after him." Shiro's voice broke a little as he said that, leaving his face broken and disappointed. "You are going to find him right now and apologise to him or I will make sure you return to Earth in a wheelchair, do I make myself clear?" His eyes glinted with a kind of danger Lance had never seen before in him. 

Lance cowered and nodded. "Ok ok, I will. Can you please let me move then?" 

Shiro snapped back to reality and moved aside with what looked like a sneer on his face. "Now go." 

It didn't take Lance many guesses to work out where Keith would be - the training room, obviously. When he arrived, he realised Keith was working with a level 15 bot - the highest any of them had ever tried. Lance sighed and opened the door, shouting "END TRAINING SIMULATION!" 

The bot shut down and Keith fell to the ground, panting hard. Then he saw it was Lance and tried to leave the room without acknowledging Lance but Lance blocked his path. "Nope, nope you and I need to talk Mullet." 

Keith glared at him. "What more is there to say? Pretty sure you covered all of it." 

"Keith.... I'm sorry, ok? I didn't mean any of what I said and I know that it was all so terrible of me to say and I know that I can never take any of those words back but I'm so so sorry." 

Keith snorted. "I'm going to take a wild guess and say Shiro made you did this?" 

"Well he did sort of run after me but I truly do want to apologise, Keith. I know you've gone through a lot and I should've never attacked you for it." 

"It's fine, Lance. Nothing I can't take. After all, I'm just loner emo boy Keith, right?" Keith chuckled dryly and in that moment, Lance saw what looked like the true face of a broken man. He could see how Keith was lying to hide his weaknesses, his vulnerability and he so desperately wanted to hug him. 

"Keith, just know that I never meant any of it. I do care about you a lot and I know that you might not feel the same way but I will always be your friend." 

Instantly, the walls around Keith came back up again and his face turned harsh. "Friends don't rip each other apart about being an - stuff like that. Friends don't taunt and tease about things that could kill the other person inside. Friends don't do any of that shit, Lance. You will never be my friend, Lance. Not after what you said." 

Lance's face turned to hurt. "Keith, please." 

"You want to know the funny thing, Lance? I was about to tell you that yeah I do have those kind of feelings for you but not anymore" Keith forced himself to laughed, then walked away. "Goodbye Lance. I don't know if we'll speak before we return to Earth but if we do, we won't speak as friends." 

Lance was left alone, tears pouring down his face. All he wanted to do was scream into the eternal void of space and kick himself for his stupidity. The only thing that kept him going was maybe Keith would change his mind, realise he was being irrational and forgive Lance. Someday, hopefully that would happen. The future would be bright, he convinced himself. Even if it took 1 year, 5 years or 15 years he would win Keith Kogane's heart back on Earth. 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 7 years later....

Lance looked around the club in L.A. with its pulsing lights and booming music, and bravely downed his vodka shot. This new surge of alcohol gave him the confidence to talk to people he wanted to flirt with. Usually this led to one-night flings or the occasional short-term relationship and he was ready for another night of those. He just hated the idea of long-term commitment, and besides none of the people he'd dated had really made a spark in him.

He looked around and saw the back of what looked like an extremely enchanting person. They had jet black hair that flowed down their back, skin that looked as fine as china and they appeared to be wearing an ebony coat which draped at their elbows, showing off a petite vest that accentuated their shoulders. Tight black jeans showed off their ass, which Lance was immediately drawn to of course. He grinned to himself and approached the 'femme fatale' who was talking to someone. "Hey there, gorgeous. Care for a drink?" 

The mysterious person turned to him. "Sorry, did you say something? Couldn't hear you." 

Lance's face blanched as he recognised the person in front of him. "Oh my god, Keith?! Is that you?" 

"Um, yeah. Sorry, do I know you?" 

"It's me. Lance McClain. We were part of Voltron, we saved the universe, defeated the Galra Empire." 

The penny dropped for Keith and his eyes went wide like dinner plates. "Holy shit, Lance? This is certainly a surprise." 

Lance laughed awkwardly. "Yeah, you don't have to tell me. What are you doing here? I thought you were still living in your shack in the desert." 

"Well, I moved here about 4 years ago because I got accepted to UCLA." 

"Oh cool, what were you studying?" 

"Art. I actually do illustrations for books." Keith nodded. "But tell me, what is Lance McClain doing now?" 

"Actually a Spanish teacher at a local high school." Lance smiled. "So, can I buy you that drink?" 

"Sure thing. Surprise me, sharpshooter." Keith laughed. "I'll be here." 

Lance rolled his eyes at the nickname and ordered an appletini for Keith and himself. He handed one to Keith. "Here you go, one of my favourites." 

Keith raised an eyebrow and sipped it. Immediately his lips puckered. "Wow, that is... sweet. How can people drink this?" 

"Well I think it's delicious" Lance took a big gulp, savouring every sensation on his tongue before swallowing. "I can't believe we met after all this time." 

"Yeah, it's crazy" Keith smiled. "Almost wasn't gonna come tonight but glad I did now." His smile was now starting to turn flirtatious as he carried on sipping his drink, mostly keeping a straight face. 

Lance stuttered a little before finding his cool. "We should really meet up sometime again. You know, catch up, talk, all that." 

"Ok. Where and when?" 

"Give me your phone so I can put my number in to text you." 

Keith shook his head. "I don't have a phone, but I can give you my house number." 

Lance gawked. "You never fail to surprise me, Kogane. Alright, let's say outside the Spring for Coffee Sunday at 11am? Unless the mysterious Keith Kogane is busy then." 

"No that should be fine. Well then, Mr McClain, I shall see you then" Keith smiled warmly. "But now I really should be going. It's no fun drawing with a hangover." 

"Yeah sure" Lance beamed at Keith. "See you Sunday." 

"See you Sunday" Keith said, walking back to his apartment. His insides were filling up with joy, finally he could do the one thing he'd always wanted to do: thank Lance.


	6. Chapter 6

That Sunday, Lance was buzzing as he entered the coffee shop. He just couldn't believe after all these years he'd finally found Keith and managed to talk to him civilly after their last incident. In fact, this was probably the first date where he actually turned up early. Most of the time he was either barely on time or running 20 minutes late. But, he was determined to be different this time.

As Lance was mentally running through his do's and don't's, that's when the elusive Keith decided to make an entrance. His hair was tied up into a man-bun and he wore ripped black jeans, a white t-shirt and a red flannel shirt to cover up his scrawny arms. Lance could now clearly make out a red tattoo of a lion behind his left ear and several piercings cascading up his ear, but the one thing racing through Lance's mind was how Keith always managed to look unique and full of beauty. Keith finally noticed Lance and sat down opposite him, smiling. "Hey." 

"Uh, hi" Lance chuckled. "Loving the tattoo by the way." 

"Hmm? Oh," Keith laughed, "yeah I've had it for so long I almost forgot about it. Kind of a tribute to Red." 

"I've always wanted a tattoo but, wouldn't want it to ruin the irresistibility of this flawless body, you know?" 

Keith rolled his eyes. "You haven't changed a bit, have you?" 

"Wha - I've changed loads, thank you. I am so much more mature!" 

"Yeah, tact was never really your thing, I believe." 

As Keith said this, Lance winced a little. "Ok, fine. Let's discuss the elephant in the room since that was part of the reason why I asked you out today. Keith, I really am so sorry for everything I said to you - not just then but all the shit I gave you about being my 'rival'. I just wanted to show all the others I belong because a lot of the time I doubted if I ever did and I still don't think I should've been there sometimes but, I'm sorry you had to deal with the brunt of it all. So," Lance sticked out his hand, "friends?" 

Keith's face morphed from sadness to sympathy. "Lance, of course we're friends. I just was pissed off at the time because it's not an easy subject but we're friends. And you were always valuable on the team, so many countless missions were saved because of you. We would still all be under the Galra Empire if it wasn't for you. And I gotta say, most of your outburst that night helped me for the better. I mean, it's resonated with me over the years and helped my determination to actually improve my future. So in a way, thanks." 

Lance was lost for words after this mini-monologue. "Oh, yeah, sure no problem buddy." 

"So, do you want to come back to mine after this?" Keith asked casually, stirring sugar into his coffee. 

Once again, Lance spluttered. "I'm sorry, what?" 

"I asked if you wanted to come back to my place after this so it's less formal. Was that too much?" Keith inspected Lance's face. "Ok, judging by your face, yeah it was." 

"What? No, no I'd love to. Don't believe everything my face conveys." 

Keith broke out into a beam. "Great!" He smirked a little. "You know, this almost feels like a date." 

At that moment, Lance choked on his coffee. Once his breathing was normal, he laughed way too forcefully. "HAHA, yeah almost like one, wow isn't that crazy?" 

Keith squirmed in his seat a little. "Sorry, fuck I'm really bad at keeping a filter on what I say. I just say whatever's in my mind." 

"Keith, it's fine. Now then," Lance downed the rest of his coffee, "shall we get going to your place?" 

Thankful for the change in topic, Keith smiled warmly. "Yeah, sounds good." 

The whole way back they walked with friendliness, talking about their lives and careers and families and the others. It was certainly amicable but it was certainly not romantic. Lance and Keith both had so many questions in their mind and this filled them both with dread. Finally, they arrived to Keith's homely apartment and Lance stepped in to peer inside the curious mind of Keith. 


	7. Chapter 7

"So, this is where I live." Keith motioned to his apartment. "Oh by the way, I have a cat but she's mostly friendly." And right on cue, a small ginger cat bounded up to Keith and purred happily. "Hey Ruby," Keith said with a huge grin on his face, "this is Lance."

Ruby took one long look at Lance and rubbed her face on his trousers, giving a universal sign that she approved of this human. 

Lance petted her head and chuckled. "We're more a dog family but I get the reason for cats. They're cool." 

"I like how quiet they are, plus they can be as affectionate as dogs." 

Lance looked around and his eyes were fixed on some art of woodland animals. "Woah, did you draw that? That's incredible." 

"Um, yeah and thanks. Drawing is my passion, I guess. Anyways, did you want to watch a movie?" 

"Yeah sure thing. What you got?" 

"Why don't we just browse on Netflix and try to find something we both like?" 

Lance agreed and 10 minutes later, they settled on Space Jam (well, Lance forced Keith to watch this 'classic'). 

Part-way through, Lance tried to be bold and put an arm around Keith however Keith moved away quickly. "Sorry, I'm just really weird about people touching me." 

"Oh it's ok, my sister hates people touching her as well." Lance smiled kindly at Keith. "I get it." 

Keith smiled a little before turning back to the movie, immediately becoming engaged with the animation. Once the credits rolled, he gave his verdict. "Not too bad, if I'm gonna be honest. But it is nothing compared to Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" 

"Um, excuse you this had Michael Jordan in. This beats Roger Rabbit anyway, even with Jessica Rabbit." 

"Let's agree to disagree, then." 

Lance laughed. "Sure thing, samurai." 

Keith cringed at the nickname. "I always did hate that name. Plus I'm not even Japanese! I'm Korean! If anything, they should be calling Shiro samurai!" 

"Well, nobody could ever wield a sword like you." It was then that Lance checked the time. "You know, I should really be heading back but thanks for this. It was good catching up again. Is there any way we could keep in touch?" 

"I can give you my email if you want" Keith shrugged. "It's just keithkogane1@gmail.com." 

"Huh. I thought yours would be edgier." 

Keith laughed briefly. "Well, it is for work so no. What's yours?" 

Turning red, Lance mumbled something. 

"Lance, I can't hear you." 

"I said, it's loverboylance69@gmail.com." 

Keith's face merged into humour and disgust. "Of course it's that." 

"And on that note, I will leave. But I did enjoy this so email me, ok?" 

"Fine. I'll message you when I can. Bye, Lance." 

"Bye Keith" Lance left the apartment with a wide beam on his face. Everything felt right about this, now he'd just have to work on remembering what he says - especially to Keith.


	8. Chapter 8

The two men started up a little routine of watching movies at each other's house - always Disney films that would either be coined as iconic or dismissed as trash. These films ranged from Flubber to Megamind to The Fox and The Hound - a true icon, as agreed by both of them. However, Lance started to get a little impatient. He knew that Keith might want to take things slow but this slow?! After a while, he just got bored. Restless, waiting in agony for someone to make a move. Which is why one night, he softly murmured, "Hey Keith?"

Keith, engrossed in Meet the Robinson's, broke from his trance and smiled at Lance. "Yeah?" 

Overcome with a sudden urge, Lance kissed Keith's lips lightly. "I really do like you, Keith. A lot." 

This only left Keith red-faced and stuttering. "Lance, I-I..... let's just watch the movie." 

Lance frowned but gave in, quietly saying "ok."

They sat in awkward silence before the credits started rolling and Keith stood up to go. "I should get going, it's dark out." 

"Keith, please wait. I'm sorry if I moved too fast or did the wrong thing, ok? I don't want to do anything you don't want me to do." 

Keith broke out a familiar smile Lance had seen before, one Lance feared and hated. "Look Lance, I like you as a friend, ok? Can't we just watch movies together and talk and shit like that? I just don't feel that kind of way towards you." 

Lance's voice dried up but he would be damned if he was going to cry in front of Keith. Instead, he simply nodded and smiled bravely. "Yeah, no problem, sorry about the whole....kissing thing." 

Walking out the door, Keith looked at Lance with kind eyes. "It's fine, Lance. Let's just forget about it." 

"Ok, bye Keith!" Lance tried to sound as cheery as possible. 

Keith was now standing in the middle of the road and smiled softly at Lance. "Bye Lance, and I'm sorry if I - " 

And that was the moment Keith Kogane got hit by a car driven by a drunk driver. 


	9. Chapter 9

Lance was pacing up and down the corridor, constantly muttering to himself, "oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh fuck this is not good!" What seemed like a billion worries were racing through his mind, thoughts of what if Keith was disabled for life, what would Shiro do if he found out, what if Keith lost part of his brain?!

As Lance was worrying, a doctor came out and found him. "Are you the person with Mr. Kogane?" 

Lance snapped out of his panic and nodded. "Mhmm, yeah that's me Lance McClain. Is he ok??" 

"Mr McClain, I'm afraid that Mr Kogane has suffered a blow to the head causing retrograde amnesia, as well as a broken leg." 

"So, what does he remember then?" 

The doctor checked their notes meticulously. "Well, he seems to have no recollection of the past two years but he can recall every detail up to two years ago." 

Lance breathed a sigh of relief. "Ok, that's good. At least he knows who he is and all that sh-stuff." 

"Mr McClain, it is up to you and others who are significant in his life to try and piece his memory back together. He cannot be presented with any false or misleading information that could alter his memory. Now then, we are also prescribing some painkillers for him." 

Lance nodded absentmindedly. "No yeah of course, only the information that really happened. So, would he 100% believe anything anyone told him?" 

Giving him a slightly funny look, the doctor responded, "of course he does still remember most of his life and the events that have shaped his personality but I would say that he would believe most things people could tell him about the last two years so that's why it's essential that you only tell him the truth." 

"Can I see him? Is he awake?" 

The doctor dipped into Keith's room and came back to Lance. "You can see him now." 

Lance eagerly went into the room and saw Keith lying, like a frail old woman, in his bed. "Keith, oh my god. How you feeling. You feeling ok?" 

Keith groaned quietly and rolled his eyes. "Yes Lance, I feel ecstatic." He pointed to his leg, propped up on a little table. "I could run a marathon." 

Lance laughed out loud and beamed. "Of course the first thing you say is sarcastic - classic Keith." 

"Lance....what year is it? People keep saying it's 2018 but I only remember it just being 2016. Have I gone mad?" 

"No Keith, you've just got amnesia. It is 2018 and yes unfortunately Trump is still president." 

Keith looked at Lance quizzically. "Why are you here? We haven't spoken to each other in 5 years, I thought you were still in Cuba?" 

Now, Lance had a tough choice to make. On one hand, his conscience was telling him to tell Keith the truth but on the other hand his id wanted one thing and one thing only - Keith. Lance knelt over towards Keith and smiled warmly at him, his decision already made. "Oh Keith, don't you remember? We've been a couple for just under 2 years. It's me, your boyfriend Lance." 


	10. Chapter 10

Keith was soon discharged from the hospital, with crutches of course, and Lance was there to help him. "Hey babe, come on let me help you into the car."

Keith let out a grunt of thanks and gingerly got into the car, full of questions for Lance. "I could've got a taxi, you didn't have to come." 

Lance let out a clear laugh. "That's ridiculous, of course I want to help my boyfriend on his first day out of hospital." 

"Ok." Keith nodded, his fingers drumming against the car. "So, how'd we meet? I know we met whilst we were forming Voltron but I mean how did we become a couple?" 

Luckily for Lance, he'd been practicing questions Keith might ask so he knew exactly what he could say. "Well, we met in a gay bar in the middle of L.A. It turned from a one-night stand into having each other's numbers into going on several dates into becoming official. And it's been the best almost two years of my life." 

"Wow, that does sound......nice. Wish I could remember it. So, do we live together or how do we do this?" 

"Actually just before the accident we were discussing you moving out and living in my house, you know for more space." 

"Cool," Keith said dismissively. He sighed and put his head in his palm. "I should probably call Shiro when we get home. He'll be worried." 

Oh, crap. Lance froze and quickly tried to think of something. "Uh, no! No, no Shiro doesn't want to speak with you!" 

Keith's expression was one of extreme hurt. "Why? Did I say something?" 

"No, he was the one that shouted in your face. It was truly awful Keith, he said so much bad stuff about you always relying on him and how we shouldn't be together and - oh boy. I did try to calm him down but you know what he's like when he's angry." 

"Yeah, I guess." And at that moment they pulled up to Keith's house. Lance helped Keith all the way up to his flat and helped him open the door and greet Ruby, just like how a boyfriend should do. 

Keith smiled affectionately at Lance and lay down on the sofa, indicating for Lance to lie down next to him. 

Lance did this with no hesitation, wanting to be as close to Keith as possible. 

"Thanks, Lance. It's nice to know that someone does care about me." Keith took this opportunity to kiss Lance deeply, then frowned. "I thought that would help me remember." 

"Some memories just can't be remembered again," Lance shrugged. "Best not to worry about it too much, baby." 

"Whatever you say" Keith mumbled into Lance's shirt, lying on top of Lance now. "Wanna watch something?" 

"Whatever you want, Keith." Lance flashed Keith a dazzling smile, his plan coming together perfectly. Keith loved him and always would. There would be no slip-ups this time. 


	11. Chapter 11

Throughout the next few months, Keith and Lance continued this fake 'relationship'. Keith even developed false memories of being with Lance, which was certainly a bonus for Lance. They did everything that normal couples did, they went on tons of romantic dates (all planned by Lance to show his adoration), they definitely fucked - all to Lance's liking which may or may not have involved telling Keith that Keith has a daddy kink and is definitely a sadist.

However, there were two huge problems. One: Lance tended to get very controlling of his 'boyfriend' and would constantly monitor him. If Keith ever did anything that Lance thought would blow his cover, he would just say how Keith would never have done that before the accident. And most of the time, it worked. Sometimes, Keith would doubt him and so Lance would really have to sell his argument and he would always make Keith seem unsure of himself. 

Two: Keith would constantly talk about wanting to speak with Shiro. He and Shiro had always had a traditional Saturday telephone call at noon and this tradition used to be a highlight of Keith's week. But, since Keith hadn't responded or called Shiro in so long, Shiro kind of gave up and assumed that Keith was busy living his own life and that he didn't need him anymore. Although this played right into Lance's hands, he hated seeing Keith so upset about not being able to talk with Shiro and so whenever Keith brought up Shiro, Lance would always be ready to comfort Keith by kissing his neck and always asking before he hugged Keith. The fact that he asked always reassured Keith and so Keith felt more secure with Lance. 

It was ironic really, if Lance hadn't almost brainwashed Keith they would've made the perfect couple. They seemed so perfect for each other. But, life has a funny way of dealing with karma as Keith would soon find out.....


	12. Chapter 12

A couple of days later, whilst Lance was out working, Keith for once had some free time after finishing a client's drawing early. His brain skimmed through possible options and lingered on Shiro, dismissing it with a "Lance wouldn't want me doing that." He then paused in disbelief. Did he really just say that? Was he so reliant on Lance that he did anything Lance asked him to? Keith decided to rebel Lance and call Shiro. It would be his little secret. And so, he walked over to the house phone (he still didn't want a phone) and called the number of Shiro's office.

Fortunately, Shiro picked up. "Hello?" 

"Hi, Shiro. It's me." 

"Keith? God I haven't heard from you in ages. Are you ok? Did something happen?" 

"Can we Skype this? I just want to see your face again." 

"Yeah, sure thing." And two minutes later, Keith got a Skype call from Shiro. 

"Hey. I'm sorry I haven't called." 

"It's fine, Keith. Just as long as you're ok." 

"It's been a bit rough recently, with the amnesia and all." Keith shrugged it off nonchalantly, not noticing Shiro's pale face. 

"Amnesia?! What, how?" 

"It was just a stupid accident, don't panic. You sound like a mother." 

"I just don't want you hurt, Keith. You sure you're ok?" 

Keith huffed and rolled his eyes. "Yes Shiro, don't worry. Lance has been helping me all the time." 

It was then that Shiro's brow furrowed. "Lance? Why would Lance be helping you?" 

Keith actually laughed at that. "You're funny. Don't you remember Lance, my boyfriend of two years?" 

"Keith, last Christmas you complained about being single. I don't know what Lance has been telling you but it's not the truth. Don't you remember drunkenly flirting with that bartender in Sacramento on my birthday, or when you had a one-night stand with that woman and you freaked out the next morning? Is anything of this ringing a bell?" 

It took Keith a couple of minutes to recall everything, but his face certainly expressed recognition. "Holy shit." 

"I'm sorry, but Lance isn't your boyfriend. He never was." 

"Of course, that's why I can't remember anything with that dick. He just said that some memories had been completely destroyed, that son of a bitch!" 

Shiro rubbed the bridge of his nose with his fingers and calmly said, "Keith, calm down. You can't just yell at him, ok? Just tell him how you feel and then explain that you're leaving." 

"Oh don't you worry, Shiro. I'll tell him how I feel, alright. Tell him exactly how I want to drag his ass down to Hell!" Keith shouted at the computer. "God, that's a fucking psycho move." 

"Keith. Deep breaths in and out. Listen, I have to go but please call me later before you do anything irrational." 

"Sure thing, Shiro." Keith's teeth were gritted. "But that motherfucker will pay."


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I've been waiting to write this chapter since the beginning!

That night, Keith packed his suitcase and waited until Lance got home to confront him. He waited in the living room, full of impatience, rage and a little bit of horror at how far Lance had gone with this. 

About 15 minutes later, Lance waltzed in and went over to Keith, wrapping his arms around Keith's shoulders and kissing him on the cheek. "Hi babe, how was work?"

It took all of Keith's self-restraint not to immediately punch Lance in the throat as he smiled with such force. "Fine. You know, I talked to Shiro today." 

Lance instantly went slightly weak at the knees. "Oh yeah?" 

"Mmm, yeah he told me some interesting things. Especially about us." 

Lance exhaled slowly. "Mhmm." 

"You despicable asshole," Keith growled, moving out of Lance's grip. "You thought you could just use me to achieve some fantasy of yours?" 

"Keith, I'm sorry. I just wanted us to be together." 

"You don't get to have any excuses, you asshole!" Keith trembled with rage as he stood up. "You don't get to manipulate me into being your little pet. I am not some puppet for you to control." 

"I know, but didn't we work well together as a couple? Didn't you enjoy any of it? I know you liked the sex, at least." 

"BECAUSE I THOUGHT I WAS FUCKING MY BOYFRIEND, NOT SOME ABUSIVE PSYCHOPATH!!" 

"Ok, you're angry. Why don't you just cool down and we can talk civilly like normal people?" 

Keith let out a sort of guttural laugh and looked at Lance with danger in his eyes. "If you think I'm staying in this house one minute longer, you're fucking wrong." He grabbed his bag and headed towards the door. "Goodbye, Lance. I hope we never meet again." 

This sent Lance over the edge and he ran to grab Keith by the waist. "No! You are not leaving, Keith. I love you, I know we can work this out." 

"Lance, let me go!" 

Unfortunately for Keith, Lance had been building up muscle whilst Keith was more scrawny. "You are meant to be mine!" 

The walls started closing in on Keith as his breathing quickened and he could feel tears in his eyes. "Lance, stop it! I don't like this, I don't want to be touched!" 

"Stop struggling, Keith! We're meant to be together, stop fighting the inevitable!" 

Keith's knees started buckling and his eyes overflowed. "Lance, please. Let me go, I-I," the rest of his sentence was cut off by hyperventilation. 

"Then will you stay?" 

"Yes, yes I'll stay. Just please let me go!" Keith's cheeks were now painted red, his eyes all puffy. "I don't want this, Lance stop!" 

Having got the results he wanted, Lance grinned like a wolf. "Good boy" he whispered into Keith's ear, who lay there shaken and trying to recover from a panic attack. "Now come to bed, it's getting late." He held out his hand for Keith, who reluctantly took it after much consideration. He now felt more powerful than ever, his prize more submissive than before.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: dubious consent, self-harm, domestic abuse, Lance is not a nice person etc.
> 
> (I'm sorry for how depressing this chapter gets.)

Well, things have certainly taken a turn for the unusual, if not the disturbing. Lance was becoming more and more paranoid and possessive over Keith so he enforced some new, harsher ground rules for his beloved. He forced Keith into quitting his job (which made Keith devastated), he only let Keith wear skimpy, revealing clothing and every morning before he left for work he would lock all the doors, remove the phone and turn off the internet so Keith couldn't ever escape from Lance.

All this did to Keith was shatter his strength and expose his vulnerability. Lance knew all his weaknesses and wasn't afraid to exploit them, for the sake of 'love'. But Keith knew that this certainly wasn't love. Love isn't when someone forcefully pressures someone else into sex, nor is it hitting them every now and then to show discipline. And boy, did Keith try to find a way out of the faux relationship he was stuck in. When he realised he could never escape from Lance's house, he tried at times to just escape from Lance's grips. He would often cut himself just to relieve himself from the numbness he felt after having been forced over and over to blow Lance. He would often cut himself because of his mental state, because he sometimes fell into the trap of believing Lance and how Keith didn't even deserve to be with Lance and how no man would ever love Keith. Not after what Lance had done to Keith. 

One week, two weeks, three weeks passed and Keith officially looked a mess. His hair was bedraggled and obviously hadn't been taken care of, his eyes had bags from terrors he had when he was asleep, his body was thin and frail from not eating properly and he was covered in scars and bruises caused by both him and Lance. He looked like when you see a majestic tiger captured in a zoo for the public's pleasure, his suffering and humiliation for their gain. 

Before he used to warm up to Lance's touch, now he flinched. He used to laugh at Lance's jokes, now he'd cry silently when he heard Lance speak. That's not to say Lance didn't love Keith. Lance did love Keith, he just had an odd way of showing it. Some couples would have great communication skills. Lance would always order Keith around. Some couples present gifts for each other. The most Lance did for Keith was ensure he wasn't dying, just to be his little puppet. Lance no longer cared about Keith's boundary problems, and whenever Keith did struggle Lance would hold him tighter and whisper into his ear until Keith was so tired he had no choice but to sleep. 

Lance had one more huge ground rule: never speak of Shiro. He despised that word now, for breaking the spell over Keith. Lance became his angriest whenever Shiro was mentioned, for he would tell Keith that Shiro wanted to destroy their relationship and if he did Lance would probably kill himself. He made Keith feel so guilty every time he talked about Shiro that Keith instinctively learnt not to utter Shiro's name. 

In short, Keith's life was a nightmare. When would it be over? Maybe soon, maybe never? Who even knows?


	15. Chapter 15

There was one thing Lance didn't know about and Keith almost forgot about. It happened about a month and a half after the whole 'relationship' took a rocky turn. Keith was sitting at home, trying to claw away some of the memories in his brain when it happened. He heard a sharp 'ping' coming from his room and, with curiosity, he rummaged all throughout his room until he found it. Hell, he almost wept with joy when he found it. It was the communicator Prince Lotor had given him for if Lotor ever came down to Earth. The 'ping' indicated a message and so Keith listened to it:

"Dearest Red Paladin, I shall be venturing to Earth soon. I have handed the Galra Empire to those who are more capable of peace and so wish to see all you paladins again. Please, send me the coordinates of your location and I will come and visit you sometime. Ever yours, Lotor of the....former Galra Empire." 

Keith quickly sent a message with instructions for his address and an important side-note to make sure to come on a weekday, never on a weekend. He spent the next week or so repeating his usual routine of despair, but this time with a little hope. 

The next Monday, when Keith was once again hurting himself physically and mentally, there was a sharp knock at the door. Keith stayed silent, both terrified and relieved someone was there. The knocking only grew louder and quickened until the mysterious person seemed to vanish. Keith breathed a sigh of relief, only to hear a loud bang as the door was obviously broken in by some sort of gun. Immediately, Keith's instincts were to fight so he ran into the living room and stood in front of the intruder. The face of his intruder only made him chuckle dryly. "Well, not the first time you've saved my ass, isn't it Lotor?" 

Lotor, standing magnificently, smiled kindly back at Keith. "I suppose not, dear paladin. Are you ok?" 

"It's Keith and I'll let you be the judge of that question." 

"What happened to you, Keith? Would you like to go somewhere to talk?" 

Keith's face turned red. "Lotor, I can't." 

"Why ever not?" 

"Because," Keith motioned to his little lingerie outfit, "this is basically the only outfit I have. That's all I can wear." 

Lotor frowned. "That can't be right, surely you own more clothes." 

"Nope!" Keith laughed, his laugh sorting of becoming crazy. "I don't control what I wear, or what I'm allowed to do, or who I'm allowed to call, or what I'm even allowed to eat. I'm trapped in a hole I dug myself." 

"Keith, who did this to you? Tell me his name and I will hunt him down." 

Keith shook his head. "I need to call someone first. Please." 

"Of course, dear Keith. I purchased an Earth communication device for if I ever needed to call any of you paladins." 

"Thanks," Keith smiled a little and called Shiro, asking him to come round to Lance's house with some clothes. 

Soon, Shiro arrived and (having not seen Keith in months) almost fell down to the ground when he saw Keith. "Jesus, what the fuck happened to you??" 

"Hello to you too." 

"I-I, did he do this?!" Shiro pointed a vicious finger at Lotor. 

"Shiro, no. It wasn't Lotor! It," Keith seemed to tremble for the briefest of seconds, "It was Lance. Now then," he took the clothes from Shiro, "am I allowed to change?" 

"Mhmm" Shiro nodded, as dumbfounded as Lotor. As soon as Keith left, Shiro interrogated him. "How long have you been here?" 

"In Earth time, about 15 minutes." 

"Did you know about this?" 

"You believe that if I had known this was happening to Keith, I wouldn't have done anything? Shiro, I would never hurt Keith." 

Suddenly, Shiro knew. "Oh my god, you're in love with Keith." 

"I will admit I have feelings for the red paladin, yes." 

"And I reciprocate them" a strong voice said from behind the two men. Keith stood there in a jumper and jeans, arms crossed. 

Before either of them had time to say anything however, a car's engine could be heard coming up the driveway. The trio decided, time for consequences.


	16. Chapter 16

"Hey Keith, what happened to the door?" Lance called as he casually walked into the house. He was immediately greeted by Keith, Shiro and Lotor. "Oh hey. Didn't know you guys were coming or I'd have Keith make you something."

It took all of Shiro's self-control not to personally strangle Lance to death. "Sit down, Lance. We have some personal things to talk about." 

"Alright," Lance sat down warily, eyeing all three of them. "So what's this about?" 

That last part actually made Keith snort. "What's this about? What do you think this is about?! It's about you, Lance. You and your psychotic behaviour." 

"Oh come on, sweetie. I wouldn't say psychotic, just protective. Like any boyfriend." 

"Lance, you have never been or never will be my boyfriend. I admit, I once thought you looked attractive when we were working together as Voltron but then it was just some stupid crush, ok?" 

"The things you have done to your fellow paladin are things that are shamed upon in my father's reign," Lotor cut in with, glaring at Lance. 

"I'm sorry, who asked the leader of the vicious Galra Empire to be here?" 

Keith rolled his eyes. "That's not the point of this, Lance." 

"Jesus, Keith. You say you're strong but you need two grown people to come here and defend your honour. You really are some damsel in distress, and all I'm trying to do is play the dazzling knight. So come on, why don't you tell them to leave and we can...you know?" He was now a millimetre away from Keith's face, his eyebrow raised in twisted glee. 

This was breaking point for Shiro and he punched Lance right in the face with his robotic arm. 

Lance winced in pain with a black eye. "God, now I know what it feels like to be hit. Makes a difference from hitting." 

"Stop it!" Keith shouted at him suddenly, gaining the element of surprise from the three others in the room. "Stop pretending like you're not some villain! Stop fucking acting like you're this lovestruck martyr! Stop trying to force me into Stockholm's Syndrome! Stop trying to change me into your perfect submissive little slave! I don't love you Lance so leave me the fuck alone and stay out of my life!" 

Lotor hesitantly put an arm around Keith, who smiled warmly up at him. "Thank you." 

Shiro walked up to Lance and pinned him against the wall, hand on his throat. "Lance, I know you may think you have the upper hand, but you do not. We're going to leave, and you will never see Keith again. And if you do, we will call the cops and tell them everything, understood?" 

"Go on, Keith. Leave," Lance laughed maliciously. "Good luck getting me out of your mind. You'll be back soon enough." 

The last thing Keith ever said before exiting Lance McClain's life was simply, "fuck you, asshole." Then, contrary to Lance's words, they never saw each other again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It may seem like an end point but it certainly isn't.


	17. Chapter 17

The next day, after Keith had slept over at Shiro and Matt's house, Lotor offered to take him out for breakfast. And so, the two of them found themselves in a small little coffee shop. Keith shivered slightly as he drank his coffee. "Haven't had a good cup of coffee in months."

"Well, I'm glad to see you are happy. Are you feeling ok?" 

Keith shrugged. "Define ok." 

"I'm sorry, that was a rude question." 

"No, no it's fine Lotor. I'm just not doing as well as I'd have liked to be doing by now." 

"Keith, you must give yourself time to heal. Nobody expects you to heal right away." 

Keith looked up at Lotor quizzically. "Why do you like me?" 

"Pardon?" 

"I said, why do you like me? I'm broken and a failing mess who has lost everything that makes me happy. So why chose me when you could choose any healthy, normal person in the universe?" Keith's voice cracked a little during that speech and tears began to trickle down his face. 

Lotor lifted Keith's head up gently. "I admire you for your bravery, and your courage, and your beauty. I've lived a long and lonely 10,000 years because I've never found the right person to be with. You are that person, Keith. I like you because of so many factors inside of you. If you gave me 100 years I couldn't write them all down and if you would let me, I would court you." 

Keith was speechless, frozen directly in his seat. He finally whispered, "ok." 

"Ok," Lotor repeated. "You've made me the happiest man in the known universe, dearest paladin." 

"I care about you too, Lotor." Keith smiled a little brighter. "I know it's hard right now but I'm glad you're here. So, um, where are you living on Earth?" 

"Ah, yes. I was granted a house here on Earth long ago. It's in, let me remember, London." 

Keith's eyes lit up. "That sounds really nice. I've always wanted to go." 

"You are always welcome at my house anytime. Maybe sometime permanently. Tell me, what is it that you want to do in terms of career?" 

"I used to be an illustrator for books, drawing pictures normally for kids' books." 

"That sounds like a charming job." Lotor smiled again. "I'm afraid I need to ask this question but how do humans court?" 

"Oh, well normally there are things called 'dates' where two people will go out to a romantic venue and have a nice time. Maybe after a few they become a couple, then might get married and start a family. But it takes time." 

Lotor nodded throughout all of this. "Well then, Keith, where would you like to go on a date?" 

And Keith felt the happiest he'd ever been for weeks, sitting across from the man he truly loved, talking about their romance blossoming. What could be better? 


	18. Epilogue

Keith and Lotor did go on many dates and eventually they got married. It was a lovely wedding. Pidge was there, Allura was there, Coran was there, Hunk and Shay were there, Matt cheered on his husband (and their best man) the entire time. It was wonderful They moved to London where Keith once again pursued his passion of illustrating and Lotor became one of the first people to work on combatting Earth diseases like cancer and Alzheimer's using Altean magic. When they got older, they adopted two beautiful children. The first was a girl named Honerva Narti Kogane, the second being a boy called Sven Kashi Kogane. The two of them had a textbook definition of a healthy marriage, and Keith lived to be 110, dying in his soulmate's arms. The moment the last breath was drawn from Keith's lips, Lotor ended his own life so he would always be with his husband. In short, it was a sweet and successful life for both Lotor and Keith.

After the last time Lance and Keith saw each other again, Lance fell into a deep depressive state when he realised Keith was never going to come back to him. The love of his life, gone. And all because of his own fault. He spent the next three years of his life going on dates that ended nowhere, relationships to pass the time and his job no longer seemed fun, just something to fill the numbing waves of time from crashing down on him. Finally, Lance had a mental breakdown one night after seeing wedding photos of Keith and Lotor, both of them smiling and looking so happy. He sobbed until the early light of dawn, when he was found dead from hanging himself.

_For never there was there a story of more woe than this of Lance but not his Romeo._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, there it is. My second finished work. Thank you guys so much for all the support, and for clicking on it and reading it in the first place. Kudos and comments are always accepted and hopefully I'll make another Voltron fanfic, not sure yet


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